Climbing The Walls
by NashvillianDream
Summary: Deacon has built up walls his entire life, fighting demons that have taken him to dark places. What happens when the demons try to break down the walls and he is faced with his biggest battle yet?


**A/N Hi everyone! Loving this show and thought I'd write a different story. It'll be dark, dramatic and some characters may be more evil than on the show. It's not gonna contain any spoilers. Not gonna explain too much, just hope you guys enjoy. Let me know what you think and thanks for reading!**

His heart pounded as he ran, his small legs shaking as he moved as fast as he could. He felt the rain pelting his skin, but he didn't care. He couldn't care. All he could think about was getting away. He had to hide. He ignored the voice behind him calling out and focused on the woods he was about to enter. He almost tripped over a fallen branch, but kept running.

He was already breathing heavily, but he couldn't stop. He just couldn't. He had to get escape.

He felt his arm being scratched as he pushed through a random bush, not looking where he was going. He should have looked. That was all he could think as he finally stumbled over a large rock and fell head first onto the hard ground with a gasp. He tried to get up, but froze as he realized he hadn't gone fast enough. His eyes went wide as he felt himself being dragged to his feet, his heart racing as he was turned around.

He gasped as he shot up in bed. He felt how the sweat dripped off his body, his sweats sticking to his skin. He looked around, his heart still pounding as he tried to remember where he was. He frowned as he noticed the sheets missing from his body, but quickly found the reason and smiled a little.

His breathing slowed down with his heart as he stared for a while, relieved to know he wasn't in the woods and he wasn't being chased. He was safe, in his own bed, in his own house.

He rubbed his face, letting out a breath, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and got up to get some water. He was careful not to make a sound, but knew it wouldn't matter. No one would wake up. They were all sound sleepers. Unlike him.

He headed into the kitchen, turning on the light above the counter and grabbed a glass.

"Dad?" He almost crashed the glass to the floor and held a hand to his chest, his heart almost pounding out of it.

"Jesus, Maddie. What are you doing there?" He said as he slowly turned towards the couch, where she had seemingly appeared on from out of nowhere. "What time is it?"

"It's about 3AM. I couldn't sleep, so I thought I'd come here and watch some TV. Then I heard you." She shrugged as he filled his glass with water and took big gulps before she headed over to him.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up. I thought I was being quiet. Are you okay though?" He asked with concern as she went to hug him.

She nodded. "Yeah. Guess I'm kinda nervous about tomorrow." She smiled shyly.

He kissed her head. "Oh I know those nerves." He told her with a small smile.

"Really? Is that why you couldn't sleep either?" He gulped.

"Nah, I was just really warm. Which is funny since I seem to be missing the sheets every time I wake up." He tells her with a smirk. She giggles, knowing what he's referring to. "But hey, being nervous for a show like that is normal, darlin'." He says as he brushes her hair from her forehead."

"Really?" She asked uncertainly.

"Sweetie, every performer gets nervous before a show. It'd be more worryin' if you weren't. Even the biggest performers, with years experience still feel their hearts racin' when they think about it, thinking about the details and makin' sure they ain't forgettin' anything. Going over and over the whole thing in their heads."

"The biggest performers? You mean Juliette still gets nervous too?"

He laughs. "Well, I was more thinkin' of your momma, but sure, Juliette gets nervous too. It's why she gets so cranky sometimes." He teased. She smiled in return and stifled a yawn. "Go back to bed, sweet girl." He told her quietly, softly kissing her head again.

She nodded sleepily. "Will you be okay?"

"Yeah, just gonna finish this water and I'm going back to bed too." She nodded again as she pulled away and started off down the hall, back to her room.

He waited until the door closed before letting out a deep breath and putting the glass down. He closed his eyes as he leaned on the kitchen counter top. He had vowed never to think of any of this crap again. Why did it come back to him now? He opened his eyes and could only hope once he closed his eyes again that the nightmare didn't continue. He remembered all too well what had happened that day and he had tried everything to forget it. He had worked hard on building up those walls. And he'd be damned if they broke down now.

With new determination he turned the lights off and went back to bed, crawling back underneath the sheets and wrapping himself around her body.

"Mmm… Deacon?" Her voice groggy, eyes still closed. He kissed her temple.

"I'm here, Ray… Go back to sleep…"


End file.
